Review: The Honeymoon Homicides Is “an Excellent Tale of Discovery, Local History, Marriage, and Fun”
”The victim generously waited to be murdered until the final vows had been spoken and we were officially declared married. And that’s pretty much the best thing I can say about my wedding.”
Sounds like the wedding from hell. And the horror has just begun. Nobody expects a body to fall from an awning to the terrace. And Sydney certainly doesn’t anticipate the investigative challenges which pull her into situations she didn’t see coming.
As the story evolves, Sydney’s personal and professional lives are tested in unusual ways. Readers unfamiliar with Sydney’s life and past are treated to flashbacks of information from other encounters which portray her and her associates in revealing new ways:
“This wasn’t Mike. Mike had been the best manager the inn had ever had, efficient, cordial… strong. I knew better than anybody else how strong he was: one cold October, back when TransWeek was still known as Fantasia Fair, I’d been unlucky enough to run afoul of a truly murderous person who’d set their murderous sights on me. I’d ended up in the harbor with hypothermia moments away when Mike had saved me. You don’t forget that kind of thing.”
Provincetown culture and personalities thus come to life and evolve in a series of encounters that focus on more than mystery alone, revealing undercurrents of relationships to enhance the story as a whole.
Jeannette de Beauvoir is especially adept at presenting Sydney’s dilemmas as she handles ultimatums, juggling her job with her ongoing probe of investigative matters and pairing wine and food as adeptly as she cobbles together facts about perps and victims.
The pace is fast, but de Beauvoir takes the time to outline social and political conundrums that influence decisions and outcomes as characters interact in a dance of special interests and personalities. This encourages readers to cheer for more than one character or special interest.
The result is a mystery steeped in Provincetown issues, culture, and personalities which creates another captivating Sidney Riley encounter while loosely reflecting on real people and events.
Libraries and readers looking for engrossing mysteries that set their escapades and encounters against a captivating backdrop will find The Honeymoon Homicides an excellent tale of discovery, local history, marriage, and fun.
Source: Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review